There Are More Flights to Ski-Town Airports Than Ever. Here’s Where You Can Fly.
Pandemic be damned, skiers are getting more convenient air service to more ski-town airports this winter than ever.
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You know ski season is nigh when the news of increased winter service to ski-town airports starts to trickle out. Well this year, it’s positively gushing.
Many airports near ski resorts are reporting an increase in flights. The latest, announced earlier this week, is good news for Mammoth skiers. United Airlines is debuting service into Bishop Airport this winter, just over 45 miles from Mammoth Mountain. While Mammoth does have a closer airport, Mammoth-Yosemite, it sits 4,000 feet higher and is considerably smaller than Bishop. The new service means that larger planes with higher capacity can fly into Bishop, keeping service more reliable and fares lower.
While it’s true that flying into ski-town airports is often pricier, the time saved driving through sometimes dangerous conditions can be worth the added cost. The bottom line: Always do your homework and research fares to all of the airports within a reasonable distance of your destination. Here’s where you can find new air service this winter.
Also Read: How to Fly For A Weekend Ski Trip and Still Survive Monday
Destination: Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
- Airport: Bishop/Eastern Sierra Regional
United rolls out daily winter service into Bishop from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Denver this season.
- Airport: Mammoth Airport
New carrier Advanced Air debuts service to Mammoth’s small airport from Burbank, Carlsbad, and Hawthorne on jets carrying between nine and 30 passengers for roundtrip fares starting at $240.
Destination: Aspen Snowmass, Colo.
- Airport: Aspen-Pitkin County
United also debuts new service this winter between John Wayne Airport in Orange County and Aspen-Pitkin County Airport. The daily flights will operate between Dec. 16 and March 26. Delta plans to resume service to Aspen-Pitkin from both Altanta and Los Angeles. There will be one flight daily from each.
Destination: Steamboat Resort, Colo.
- Airport: Yampa Valley Regional
Delta will also resume daily winter flights to Hayden after taking a hiatus during the 2020-’21 season. The flights will depart from Atlanta and Minneapolis. And Southwest, which introduced daily flights from Denver last year, adds a new Saturday route from Houston into Hayden for the upcoming season. In total, Hayden is served by 17 flights across six airlines.
Destination: Big Sky Resort and Bridger Bowl, Mont.
- Airport: Bozeman-Yellowstone International
Another new destination for Southwest, the airline introduced flights into Bozeman’s airport back in May for the summer travel season from Denver and Las Vegas, and will continue the route through the ski season. One of the most prolific ski-town airports, Bozeman is a nonstop destination from 23 cities on 10 different airlines.
Destination: Crested Butte Mountain Resort, Colo.
- Airport: Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional
United ups service from one flight to two from Denver this winter, with a third flight added between Dec. 16 and Jan. 3. American will add two daily routes to Gunnison from Dallas.
Destination: Telluride Ski Resort, Colo.
- Airport: Telluride Regional
One of the closest airports to any slopes (five minutes), tiny Telluride Airport adds service from Phoenix to its small roster of direct flights. The service, provided by small charter airline Denver Air Connection, will run from Dec. 16 to April 5 and depart daily. DAC also runs routes to Telluride from Denver.